Knee protector



NOV. 21, I F. B. GILL KNEE PROTECTOR Y Filed Nov. 14, 1941 Patented Nov. 21, 1944 PROTECTOR u l Florenalawin Gill, strainer, In'. Application November 14, `1941, Serial No.419,147

, u "3`o1aims This invention relates to knee protectorsof a type adapted to be worn by housewives, carpenters, linoleum layers, roofers, and, in fact, by all workers whose workis done onthe knees.` Appli` cant is aware that many knee .protectors have been invented and many attemptsto merchan` dise them havebeenmade.` `However,` no great commercial successhas resulted fromsuch efforts due, in applicants opiniorn` to the ineffectiveness of .these devices. i It has been the applicants exspringing of the pad to provide a, gripping ac' v tion, `as will later be more fully explained. `If the perience, and observation thatI l knee workers H should be supported by the portion ofthe leg im mediately below theknee; thefrontor lowermost portion of the legthe upper shin 'section-Ibe-` ing quite bony and sensitiveyisleast adaptedto operators weight is sureto cause` discomfort after an Aextended period of time.` `-lilven a soft pad under the shin issooneompressed and be` comes hard and uncomfortable if the weight is permittedto rest at this point` i ,1,

Theparticular object ,of ,this-invention is to provide a knee protectorin` which-the -weight is largely supported ,fromlthe side portions of the leg.` y Y `other object is to provide a kneetprotector, which naturally grips theside portions of the; leg and is held` securely in position by `this gripping action without undue binding stress around, the leg.

A still further object is toI provide a knee protector of sturdy, low-cost structurewhich may be bought and used by housewives for ordinary home use and which may be used by male workers in the industrial arts by attaching sturdy protector shoes. A

Other objects and benets Will be disclosed in the following descriptions and drawing, in which: v Fig- 1 is a perspective :view of myknee protec` tor with adjacent attachment shoe;

Fig, 2 is a top plan view ofthe protectorat` tached .to the upper part of the leg of the worker showing the gripping action of the inner sponge rubber, as will later be explained;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational viewshowing the protector as it appears with the iworkers weight imposed thereon and with this weightlargely supported from the sides ofthe leg, as will later be explained; and t i Fig. 4 is atransverse cross-sectional view of an optional structure of the protector shoe, as will later be explained. y Now referring tothe drawing, and at the outset particularly to Eig. 1, I designate my inner sponge' I provide knee protectors having a canvas cover- 15,1 support the worlfrers,weight;` Any knee protector` which permits this portion of the leg to carry thek natura1 spring action of the pad is not suicient anietallicspring should bei inserted. To the out-` side of the pad` II) `I attach acanvas cover: I I `preferablyploy, securely vulcanizing the parts I Il n and Il together. 1 On one side, of the canvas cover i,

II I 'have an attachment `tab'l2 to whichI stitch a conventional adjustable, resilient garter member I3` having an attachment clip I 4 adapted .to attach to an opposite tab member I5 carrying an attachment stud I6. This is a `conventional garter fastening means, although I, wish it to beim--r derstood that I adjustthe garter member `I3 to only slighttensiomso as lnot to unduly bind the Wearers legand cause stoppage of circulation, as my knee` protector is normally held in secured positionby the gripping action of the rubber pad member Il) by its innerside edges on the sides `of the legs of the wearer. p

On the tabs |12 `and I5 I mount two additionalA attachment studs I1 and IB as shown, these studs being available iorindustrial workers to fasten on a` protector shoe, as .will now be explained. I provide a protector shoe I9 havinglongitudinal ridges I 9a and Ib, I preferablyform this shoe of-i-a resilient fabric-reinforced phenolic condensation product, such as Bakelite,` because, thismaterial is light in weight while being flexible, sturdy and highly resistant to wear. The shoe I9 also carries attachment studs 20 and `2I, by which `the shoe I9 is attached to the studs Il and 'I8 through resilient attaohmentmembers 22 and 23, as shown; By this arrangement itwill be appreciated that ing properly adapted for the use of housewives in the ordinary householdtasks but which may i be readily utilized by workers in the industrial arts bythe attachment of wear-resistant shoe members I9. In some cases the pad land lcover II may be formed integrally, thus eliminating the cover I I.

Now referring to Fig. 2, I show my knee protector as applied to the upper` portion of a workers leg when in seated position. It will be .noted that the inner edges of the pad I0 bear on action by the pad as it tends to spring inwardly,

OFFICE j i i the shoe as shown by the arrows C and D. When in this position the pad I0 is distorted in a manner as shown, with the center section of the pad bearing at e but with the inner surface of the pad bendvis thus applied' the pad will then assume the and the sides extending outwardly from the base a distance suicient to receive and support the major portion of the weight of the leg when pressed between the sides greater than the weight supported directly on the base, and means for attaching said pad to the leg.

position` as shown in Fig. 3 and it will be carei fully noted that the side sections S-I and S-2 are greatly compressed'while the bottom section B is more nearly of its original area. Thus it will be apparent that the major part of the workers weight is carried by the side portions of the leg and not the sensitive lower shin portion. When the shoe l9 is applied it will be observed that the ridge sections l9a and |912 assist in holding the side sections of the rubber pad I 0 and .thus coact in assuring that the workers weight is carried by the side sections S-l and S-2, 'as shown.

In Fig. 4 I show an optional structure I9 for I9; In this optional arrangement I embed small conventional ball rollers 24 in the Bakelite shoe I9. For ordinary use four of these. rollers would be used but under some conditions I may use only two and under other conditions more than four. It will be appreciated that with these ball rollers the operator will be able to more easily move on his knees and thus the kneeling worker is further assisted in his Work.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be appreciated that many variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It will be understood that I do not wishto be restricted to the specic disclosure except as imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. AA knee protector comprising a pad having a base portion with upstanding opposite sides substantially U-shaped in' cross-section, said base portion and sides being of appreciable thickness and formed of soft yieldable material, the outer edges of the sides being spaced apart a distance appreciably less than the width of the portion of the human leg between said outer edges of the sides when the leg is pressed against the base,

2. A knee protector comprising a pad having a base portion with upstanding opposite sides substantially U-,shaped in cross-section,v said base portion and sides being of appreciable thickness and formed of soft yieldable material, the outer edges of the sides being spaced apart a distance appreciably less than the width of the portion of the. human leg between said outer edges of the sides, when the leg is pressed against the base,

and the sides' extending outwardly from the base a distance suflicient to receive and support the major portion of the weight of the leg when pressed between'thesides greater than the weight supported directly on the base, means for attaching said pad to the leg, a separate shoe abutting against the outer face of they base, tabs attached to opposite sides of said shoe, and fastenings on the outer face of each side of the pad detachably engaging said tabs for removably securing the shoe on the pad.

3. A knee protector comprising a pad having a base portion with upstanding opposite sides substantially Uf-'shaped in cross-section, said base portion vand sides being of appreciable thickness and formed of soft yieldable material, the outer edges of the sides being'spaced apart a distance app-reeiably less than the width of the portion of the human leg between said outer edges of the sides when the leg is pressed against the base, and the sides extending outwardly lfrom the base a distance suiiicient to receive and support the major' portion of the weight of the leg when pressed between the sides greater than the weight supported directly on the base, a shoe formed of resilient material and secured at the outer face of the base of the pad, said shoe having longitu,n dinal ridges adjacent opposite edges of the pad embracing the base portion of the pad and normally confining said base portion in upwardly bowed relation therebetween in position to be deflected downward against the shoe/ upon the application of pressure against the pad, and means for securing the pad on the leg.

FLORENCE BALDWIN GILL. 

